Wednesday, May 2, 2007

Orange You Glad?

I had a craving for an orange-scented fragrance to wear in the summer. Pure orange, like orange oil, pungently citrus, bright and fresh, not orange blossom or neroli. I got a couple of suggestions from the fine folks at the Make Up Alley boards, and was able to get my hands on two right away.

In the opening of Marc Jacobs Orange, one can detect citrus, a bit of mint, floral notes. Then there's a greenish mossy note, a bit of tangy tamarind (a note that deserves a fragrance of its own), and finally some very light woodsy notes. There's too much going on in this scent for my taste. It's citrusy, but doesn't scream "orange!" and overall, it seems to have a somewhat masculine quality. Unisex at the very least.

More bergamot than orange at the beginning, with quite a bit of lemon. The orange-y notes are more noticeable after a few minutes. I don't get any of the cardamom, and the musk and caramel only serve to sweeten up the drydown a little bit. This one is very orange overall, and a strong contender for my favorite.

Tangy citrus fruits, noticeable grapefruit and tangerine, all the way into the drydown. The jasmine is barely there, and serves merely as a support for the usually fleeting citrus essences. The musk lends a softness to the drydown. Dissapointingly, the strength and lasting power of Little Italydoesn't seem to be as great as that of other Bond scents, perhaps because of the preponderance of citrus. Pretty darn orangey though, and another close contender for my favorite.

Citrus and cedar, bright and refreshing at first sniff, and not at all sweet. A couple of minutes in, I can detect the slight dry spiciness of ginger. The drydown is mostly cedar with the barest essence of citrus oils. Subtle, lovely, but not exactly what I'm looking for.

Which should I choose? Do you have another orange-based scent that you can recommend to me?

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